


Swoop Am Responsible Pet-Sitter

by Not_You



Series: Domesticus Inspired [2]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-10
Updated: 2013-06-10
Packaged: 2017-12-14 14:03:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/837706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_You/pseuds/Not_You
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Perceptor meets Grimlock's tiny family of humans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swoop Am Responsible Pet-Sitter

Perceptor only learns that Grimlock even has humans from Swoop. The two of them are sharing a cube after a short survey mission, because while Dinobots aren't the most erudite company Swoop is a very good mech to have at one's back. 

Swoop is just sipping the very last when a soft but insistent tone goes off from one of those small, semi-external chronometers that can be added at low cost and high convenience to keep track of one or two discrete tasks. Some creatormechs have them to remind themselves to refuel when they're deeply-involved in their work.

"Oh, Swoop need leave." He sets down his empty cube.

"That's a new chronometer, isn't it?"

"Yes." He stands and stretches his arms. "Grimlock gone. Swoop look after Grimlock's humans."

"Grimlock has humans?"

"Yes. Grimlock have humans long human-time."

"I see. Swoop, I am engaged in the study of humans, and I was wondering—"

"No dissect. Grimlock kill."

"No, no dissect. I mean, I shall not dissect them. I am more interested in their behavior and intelligence. I would simply like to meet Grimlock's humans and talk with them."

Swoop ponders this for a moment. "Probably okay. Swoop ask." He comms Grimlock on a private frequency for what feels like forever, then disconnects. "Is okay."

Perceptor has never actually been to Grimlock's home, and is fascinated. It's a huge, sparse space, with plenty of room for massive mechs and more combat training equipment than Perceptor has ever seen in one place. And of course, the most interesting thing of all, which is the transparent wall into the human habitat. It's a big swath of green, a fortune in organic materials and botanical specimens. Swoop goes over and gently taps on the glass. "Humans?"

"Hey, Swoop!" What must be a hatchling comes running up to the wall, and then stops, optics wide.

"This Perceptor."

"Hi, Perceptor!" He waves one hand in the greeting gesture Perceptor has come to recognize and learned to duplicate.

"Greetings, small human."

It giggles, and the others come to join it. The smallest of the males looks a little like Miles, but different in all those minute and unaccountable little ways. All humans are slender, but this one seems harder somehow, almost like the organic answer to bundled wire. The others represent different types, one quite large and bulky for a human, the other more in the intermediate range, like a combination of Sam and Trent. The female is fascinating, schematic so different and still so similar, but his optics nearly overclock trying to get a better look at the tiny bundle in her arms. "Is that… Primus, is that a new hatchling?"

The female laughs. "Are you a scientist?"

"I am. May I ask you some questions about yourself and your hatchling?"

"You may." She smiles up at him. "I need to stay inside the habitat, though. There's no rebreather for the baby."

"I see. And how long has it been external?"

She laughs again. "Approximately one decaorn. The gestation was two and a half."

There's a port through the wall for Grimlock to insert his hand to ferry humans out of it, with flexible material to keep it airtight. Perceptor has the ability to extrude protometal built into one of his new hands, so is able to reach in and make a secure bed on the tip of his first finger, allowing him to hold this incredibly fragile human larva. Its tolerance ranges are so small that he hardly dares to adjust his optics. "So small…" It's in recharge, venting deeply, and is very warm compared to what he thinks of as normal human temperature.

"Be very careful of the head."

Examining it, Perceptor realizes that there are actually gaps in the creature's helm struts, and that the delicate processor is almost completely unprotected. He hands the hatchling back to its creator, terrified of harming it. She takes it carefully but with none of Perceptor's timidity. It wakes and makes a very strange little noise, quieting when its creator pops one of her pink sensor nodes into its mouth. Observing the female's vastly different ventrum, Perceptor thinks to enquire about the hatchling.

"Is it male or female?"

"Female."

"So it will grow like the other hatchling and then pupate?"

She laughs. "You could say so. Humans call it puberty. Males are born with probes and females with ports, but the other things like breasts and facial hair all come later, after the child has some growth."

"I see." Perceptor has only heard of facial hair, and sees no sign of it on any of the males.

"Would you like to talk to my son?"

The other hatchling is still close by, studying Perceptor with its moist optics. "Certainly. Greetings, small human."

The hatchling giggles. "Kyle." Unlike his creator, Kyle is wearing that light leg armor that Perceptor's humans favor, though his are orange, and patterned somehow with black.

"Kyle," Perceptor repeats. "At what stage are you in your development?"

Kyle laughs. "I'm 1.2 decivorn old. I'm still young. I'm about half the age of an adult human."

"Fascinating."

"All the adults are over a quarter-vorn," Kyle adds. The males chuckle, having arranged themselves on a large rock that seems well-suited to the purpose.

"Which is your co-creator?" Perceptor's humans have explained to him the need for two humans to share code to create a third, but he can't be sure which of the three it is.

Kyle smiles, and points to the intermediate sized one. "That's Dad, which is a special designation. His actual name is Robert." Robert waves, getting up from the rock and going to the female, who is apparently designated 'Moira' or 'Mom' which seems to be one of the few functional signfiers in English. She smiles, and explains to Perceptor that she only interfaces with Robert, the others uninterested in females. Nick and Terry apparently volunteered together, and endured the abusive sorting process before being bought by Grimlock for maintainence. They avoided withdrawal sickness at first by explaining to Grimlock that they enjoy interfacing with gentle mechs, and now avoid it by eating a fully organic diet.

"He still loans us out, though," Terry says, showing his dentae in what the humans call a grin, "Just in case you're interested."


End file.
